The Gifts We Give
by WordsSpillFromMyVeins
Summary: It's Dana Scully's birthday and Fox Mulder bought her a special present - this was written for the X Files Valentine's Day Exchange over on AO3


Scully's Apartment  
Georgetown  
Washington, D.C.  
February 23rd 2000  
5:13pm

Scully turned the taps off in the shower, then carefully stepped out and quickly grabbed a large, fluffy, grey towel from a hook on the wall beside the bathroom sink, immediately wrapping it snugly around her rapidly cooling, wet body. She wiped the steam that had formed from the heat on the mirror of the medicine cabinet and looked at herself - all pale Irish skin, freckles and red hair.

She was attempting to blow-dry and style her hair, when she heard the familiar sound - three quick knocks against the front door. It was Mulder.

Scully smiled, put the blow-dryer down, and padded through her bedroom, down the hall and out into the living room (leaving a trail of water droplets in her wake) to let him in.

"Happy birthday, Scully."

Mulder lowered his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, catching a whiff of her lavender scented body wash. It was intoxicating and always managed to turn him on.

He was wearing a nice pair of dark blue jeans, a plain white tee, and his leather jacket with matching black leather dress shoes.

Scully was still only in the towel she had wrapped around herself after hopping out of the shower twenty minutes ago... and it didn't go unnoticed.

"Come in, and thank you."

Scully started to turn around, to go finish getting ready, but was stopped in her tracks by Mulder putting his hands on her bare shoulders and spinning her, slowly, back around to face him.

"Is this what you're wearing? I mean, I like it but I don't think it's appropriate for tonight's festivities..." Mulder smirked while running his index finger across and dipping down between her shoulder blades.

She shivered involuntarily at his touch before squaring her shoulders and narrowing her eyes at him. It was a look he knew all too well, one that said "Now is really not the time" but it was betrayed by the light pink tinge spreading across her visible upper chest.

Scully was clearly enjoying his advances even if she wouldn't admit to it right now.

They had been making measured but inevitable progress since their New Year's Eve kiss just seven weeks ago. There had been numerous and very indulgent make out sessions (at his apartment, her apartment, and occasionally in the office) which sometimes came close to hitting third base. Mulder would continue to wait until she was ready to take it to the next level because he loved and respected Scully and didn't ever want to lose her. She was his one in five billion, his constant, touchstone, and best friend, and none of that would change if he could help it.

"And I'm shutting up now. I certainly don't want to incur the wrath of the birthday girl."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mulder, because you really do talk too much." Scully grinned up at him, blue eyes sparkling mischievously as she extricated herself from his grasp to finally go get dressed for the evening. "I won't be long and then we can leave, OK."

"No problem, I'll just wait out here until you're ready." Mulder walked over and sat down on the comfy sofa, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and stared at the blank TV screen for a minute or so before calling out "Hey, can I turn the TV on?"

"Nope! I said I wouldn't be long and I meant it."

Scully's response was met with silence and she immediately knew what he was doing, he was pouting. There was probably an important basketball game on that he wanted to catch at least a small part of before going out for dinner.

"I can hear you pouting from here, Mulder."

"I AM NOT!" Mulder whined, loudly, like a child being scolded by his mom.

When Scully wandered back out into the living room, dressed to the nines and carrying her heels and little black purse in her hands, Mulder was nowhere to be seen. It was only by the sound of his surprised gasp from behind her that she realised he was standing in the dark kitchen munching on sunflower seeds and drinking a Shiner Bock (their beer of choice to pair with a big bowl popcorn on Movie Night) he found in the back of her refrigerator.

"Wow! Jesus, Scully, you look incredible!" Mulder exclaimed, shock and awe etched on his ruggedly handsome face. He set his beer bottle down on the counter near the sink and walked towards Scully to see her in the better lighting of the living room.

"Don't sound so surprised"

She was wearing a lovely and extremely flattering sheath dress (the top half was a shimmering emerald, the lower half jet black), minus usual black nylons. He loved her short little legs, but knew with the right pair of heels she could appear deceptively tall. The pair she was holding in her hand along with her purse were black "fuck me" t-strap peep toe platform heels.

"No, I just- Well, it's just I feel underdressed now." Mulder stumbled over his words, flustered and confused because he didn't expect his comment to be taken any other way than how it was intended. She looked absolutely gorgeous, of course, that wasn't what surprised him. It was the fact that this dinner wasn't as casual as he first thought.

"Mulder, I'm kidding." Scully's face brightened considerably, so he could see that she was just teasing him. "You look incredible, too, by the way." She noticed some wet spots from melted snowflakes on his leather clad shoulders and reached up to wipe them away.

"Really?"

Scully's gold cross was tangled in the tight neck of her dress. Mulder reached out, pulling it out carefully (he didn't want to break her faith after breaking her trust so many times), and delicately placed it back in its rightful spot in the hollow of her throat but over the top of the dress and then took her purse and heels from her right hand.

"Are you seriously pretending that you don't know how attractive I find you?"

Mulder casually leaned against the back of the sofa, grinning and holding out her heels waiting for her to take them and put them on, watching as it dawned on Scully that he was paying her back for her initial bit of harmless teasing.

"Of course not... it's just nice to hear once in a while, G-woman. Now, come here, I really need to see this spectacular dress up close... and very, very personal" Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully's waist, pulling her between his legs and clasping his hands at the small of her back (her heels and purse still in them).

Now that Scully was standing so close, he could see that she was barely wearing any make up; just some mascara, eyeliner and a shimmery red lip gloss to match the soft, wavy, red tresses framing her beautiful, freckle dotted face.

"I don't want to be late so we should really get going now. Heels?"

"Here..." Mulder handed one of the heels over. Scully stepped back and placed her hand on his knee to steady herself, bending over and slipping the heel on. "Umm, but what about your present?" He watched on completely captivated as her hand slowly slid further up his inner thigh than he suspected she knew was happening, distracted with balancing precariously as she was.

"Does it involve either one of us being naked?"

Mulder wordlessly shook his head desperately trying to temper his growing excitement but failing miserably. It really was an unfortunate thing for Scully to say when her left hand was so damn close to him and there was nothing that could be done about it because they had to go.

"Well then, you can just give it to me when we get there, right?" Scully said, standing up and looping her arms around his shoulders, playing with the short hairs at the base of his neck.

"Umm, sure... OK" Mulder surreptitiously patted the small square jewellery box hidden in his jacket pocket and handed over Scully's black velvet purse, revealing the fact that he was now semi-hard.

Mulder was avoiding looking at Scully when he slipped the purse over her shoulder, and she smiled sympathetically while smoothing down his white tee that rode up as he was sitting down, patting his chest.

"Mulder?"

"Sorry! Let's go... I'd hate to keep your mother waiting." Mulder's hands were firmly back on her hips and he looked up into her eyes, apologetic.

"It's only natural, don't worry" Scully said, in her best 'I'm a Medical Doctor" voice before rising up on her tiptoes and placing a loving kiss on Mulder's forehead.

Mrs Scully's Residence  
Admiral Heights  
Annapolis, Maryland.  
6:47pm

Mulder pulled into Mrs. Scully's driveway, turned the ignition off which cut the radio out in the middle of a song, and looked over at Scully. Her hands were clasped in her lap, holding her purse rather tightly. Scully hadn't seen her mother since Thanksgiving before everything had changed, before a zombie attack finally brought them together over the Christmas holidays.

"Why are you nervous? Shouldn't I be running for the hills at this point?"

"What if she figures us out?"

"Umm... would that honestly be a bad thing?" Mulder asked, confused and slightly worried about why Scully wasn't comfortable with Maggie knowing about them.

"No, of course not. I didn't mean- Sorry." Scully apologised, smiling softly to ease his concern.

Mulder reached his hand over the centre console and took both of her delicate hands in his, his thumb making lazy comforting figure eights over the top of them. He didn't want to make Scully feel like they had to scream it from the rooftops if she wasn't absolutely sure that she wanted to yet.

"It's OK. We can wait as long as you want, Scully. I just want you to be comfortable."

"I appreciate that, Mulder. Shall we?" Scully said, picking up the bottle of fancy Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley that she had bought six months ago in anticipation of good news from their attempt at IVF - of conceiving a child that was completely theirs and then it didn't work out and neither one of them were interested in anything other than the comfort they gave each other that night. She had kept it hidden in the back of one of her kitchen cupboards ever since.

They exited the government issued silver sedan and walked arm in arm up to Maggie's front door. Mulder pressed his lips to Scully's temple and then knocked. She untangled their arms when she heard her mother's footsteps heading their way.

"Dana... Fox. I'm so happy to see the two of you." Maggie beamed as she opened the front door to her home, inviting them in. "Please, come in. I hope the traffic wasn't too bad?"

"Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Scully." Mulder almost pushed Scully into the doorframe in his haste to hug Maggie. Mrs. Scully was wearing a lovely lilac colored sweater over a white blouse and nice black dress slacks. She returned Mulder's hug, whispering something in his ear that Scully didn't catch but made him grin at her and laugh.

"The traffic was fine. How are you, Mom?"

"I'm great, honey. But I've missed you" Maggie said, wrapping her arms around her youngest daughter, running her hands up and down her back making sure she was actually here. "I just wish I saw you more often" Sometimes it was hard to believe after everything that they had both been through over the years.

It was quiet and warm in her mother's updated old 19th century brick Victorian house - the TV was on mute and the fireplace was alight with flickering flames. Scully handed Maggie the bottle of wine, and ushered Mulder into the separate living room. Mulder took the time to look at all of the family photos on the two side tables and fireplace mantle, smiling at the happy snaps of the entire Scully clan. There were photos from all over the world (the life of a Navy family), from family vacations across the US and special holidays (Easter, Birthdays and Christmas) at home in this very room.

"Whoa, is that the infamous Charlie?" Mulder wondered out loud when he came across a picture on a side table next to a antique lamp near the huge L shaped couch that was pushed up against the large almost floor to ceiling window.

"Yeah, and his wife Kimberly and their... now eleven year old daughter, Michelle."

"How have I still not met Charlie? I'm tempted to open an X File on this mysterious Scully." Mulder joked, as Scully explained the complexities of her family to him.

Charlie was short, like Scully - he looked cheerful and fun to be around unlike Bill Jr. who always appeared to be in a mood. They were at Disneyland with Sleeping Beauty's Castle in the background behind them, and Michelle looked about 6 years old. She was wearing a bright red summer dress with little white hearts on it and Minnie Mouse ears on top of her strawberry blond head.

"They live in Seattle. He and Bill had a falling out when Charlie got married and moved away, so he doesn't come visit much. Kinda envy him sometimes, especially when Bill tries to tell me how to live my life."

Mulder found a faded polaroid, wedged into the outside of a different framed photograph, of a four year old Scully holding a Raggedy Ann doll to her chest and grinning widely at the camera. He thought she looked absolutely adorable in a tartan pinafore dress over a white turtleneck with her long red hair in pigtails.

"Oh my! Was she your favourite doll, Scully?"

"Of course she was, for some reason Raggedy Ann was the only doll on the market that looked like me"

"Hungry?" Maggie asked, from her spot under the archway that led to the dining room.

Mulder's hand had been resting on Scully's lower back, and she been leaning in close to him to get a better look at the old photo, they turned around and he quickly removed it when they heard Mrs Scully speak. Scully gasped and stepped away from Mulder not that it mattered. It certainly wouldn't change what her mother had witnessed during the last minute or so. But they were nothing if not gifted avoiders and would pretend for the rest of the night that they hadn't been caught sharing a moment together.

"Absolutely!" Scully blurted out, blushing and not just from the heat of the fire or being so close to Mulder.

"I went to the grocery store earlier and picked up a delicious Red Velvet cake for after dinner, too." Maggie said as they all walked into the dining room and decided on places to sit, with Scully choosing the seat opposite Mulder, getting a double take from Maggie and a mild frown from Mulder.

Maggie went back into the kitchen to grab the casserole dish with her homemade lasagne in it (eggplant instead of meat).

"Is there anything I can do to help, Maggie?" Mulder offered, rising up out of his chair before really getting comfortable.

"Garlic bread. It's staying warm in the oven, if you could grab it and bring out here that would be wonderful." Maggie replied, placing the dish on a heat mat in the middle of the table and sat down at the head of the table between them.

Scully was pouring the Cabernet Sauvignon into her wine glass after filling her mother's and Mulder's glasses, just as he returned with the garlic bread on a wooden board and placed it next to the lasagne, winking at her and sitting back down but this time in the chair next to Scully's. He wasn't going to let her get her way and knew that Mrs. Scully was thinking the same.

"It smells amazing, Mom" Scully declared, before taking a small sip from her wine glass.

"It's delicious, Maggie, really!"

"I'm pleased you think so, Fox. Would you like some more?" Maggie leaned forward to reach for the spatula in the lasagne dish.

Mulder shook his head "No", still in the middle of a mouthful of the vegetarian lasagne - quite surprised that he was enjoying it so much, considering his usual terrible taste in food.

They spent the next hour catching up - talking, laughing, finishing their dinner and devouring the unbelievably yummy red velvet birthday cake.

Scully and Mulder were sitting next to each on the couch, almost cuddling, waiting for Maggie to return with her present for Dana. Mulder still hadn't removed the jewellery box from his jacket pocket, dreading giving it to Scully ever since she said it could wait, knowing what was in the small velvet box and how awkward things could quickly become. He wished he hadn't been so distracted by her back at the apartment and just given it to her then.

"I wasn't sure what you wanted. I hope you like it." Maggie apologised, giving her daughter the meticulously wrapped present and sitting in the cream colored winged armchair across from them.

It was flat and soft, definitely an item of clothing but it could be just about anything.

"Oh, Mom. I'm sure I'll love it, you know that I'm not picky."

Mulder smiled at Maggie, and they both watched as Scully carefully opened the present revealing a lovely sky blue knitted cardigan that matched her eyes.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

Scully turned to Mulder, expecting that he would give her his present now but he was staring at her mother with an oddly horrified look on his face.

"Fox, is everything OK?" Maggie asked, worried by his sudden change in demeanour.

"Yes... umm, I'm just-"

Mulder gave Scully a pointed look, trying to impress upon her the potential awkwardness that was about to unfold. Scully had made it clear that she wasn't ready to tell her mother about them finally deciding to be together and this would definitely give that secret away in the most embarrassing way possible.

"Mulder? Why are you acting weird? You said it was fine if you gave it to me once we got here. And we're here now, so?"

"Scully, I'm not sure now is the right time."

Maggie sat in stunned silence, the overly transparent scene playing out in front of her confirming what she had long suspected, that they had come to the point where they could no longer keep their feelings from each other. She was beyond happy for them, that she almost laughed out loud, masking it with a quiet cough that neither of them even noticed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mulder. I want my present... hand it over," Scully demanded, shoving her right hand into his leather jacket and pulling it back out, a small black velvet jewellery box in her palm. Mulder tried, desperately, to snatch it back but failed and waited for the inevitable embarrassment to wash over everyone in the room.

"I really think you should wait until later..."

Scully opened the box, stared at the piece of jewellery for a moment and then slammed the lid shut with an audible snap before Maggie could see what was inside, a shocked gasp escaping her lips at the realisation of why Mulder was uncomfortable with giving this gift to her in front of her mother.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know... I wish I had known, believe me," Scully whispered into Mulder's ear, and put the box into her purse quickly.

"It's OK. I should've said something but I didn't want to ruin the surprise for you."

"Dana? What is it? What was Fox' gift to you?" Maggie probed, curious about what could cause the two of them to act like teenagers.

"Just a lovely pair of earrings!"

It wasn't a lovely pair of earrings, it was a bellybutton ring with an amethyst birthstone dangling off of it. If Mulder hadn't noticed the piercing during the countless number of decontamination showers they had been forced into endure together over the years, then he had definitely noticed it when they fooled around on his leather couch on Valentine's Day last week.

Mulder's Apartment  
Old Town  
Alexandria, Virginia.  
11:21pm

The old elevator made extremely worrying clunking and groaning noises all the way up the inside of the apartment building before coming to a sudden and unexpected stop, causing Scully to stumble forward a bit as the metal doors slowly opened onto the fourth floor.

"Whoa, steady there," Mulder chuckled, slipping his left arm around Scully's waist to keep her upright and stable.

She had been leaning against him, silently and very comfortably, the whole ride up but quickly tightened her grip on his arm now and relaxed into his helpful embrace.

"Thanks"

"No problem, Scully. I couldn't let the night end with you hurting yourself"

"That could've been really embarrassing, huh?" Scully sighed, staring down at the ground and adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

"Would you like me to recount the times I've embarrassed myself, in public no less, to make you feel a little better? Because I think we both know I would win that game."

Mulder kissed the top of her head and tickled her side, trying to make the awkwardness he could feel radiating from her disapate. Scully looked up at him with a shy but grateful smile.

"Good point"

They carefully made their way down the dimly lit hallway, with Scully only stumbling the once and giggling quietly into Mulder's chest, to his front door - Number 42.

Scully suddenly remembered that it was the critical angle at which a rainbow would appear. It's turning point. _Maybe tonight would be a turning point for them_, Scully thought.

Mulder stood there, fumbling in his jacket pocket for his keys, while also holding the present that Maggie had given Scully earlier that evening. Scully was still using him as support until she could take her heels off as he opened the door to his apartment and ushered her in by a hand on the small of her back and flipped the light switch on.

"Stay..." Mulder insisted, his hands on her shoulders to keep her in place near the coat rack and entryway side table "I'm going to get you a glass of water, so you can sober up."

Scully smirked, reaching for the belt loops on his jeans, but all she got was her hastily re-wrapped cardigan.

Mulder held a tall glass under the kitchen tap, watching as Scully leaned against the side table and kicked her heels off. He looked away for just a moment to turn it off and when he turned around - she was gone.

"Scully?"

"Have I ever told you how much I love your couch? It's so comfy!" Scully whisper-shouted while she wriggled around, getting comfortable on the leather couch that Mulder had used as a bed until recently when a mysterious waterbed (with a pervy 80s over the top style mirrored ceiling) appeared in what was the actual bedroom in the apartment.

But what she loved most about the couch, though, was that it smelled like him. It was covered in his unmistakable scent, so she pushed her nose into the groove between the back cushion and the armrest were his pillow used to call home and breathed him in, deeply.

Mulder stood on the threshold between the entryway/kitchen and living room, holding the room temperature glass of water and watched as Scully attempted to turn the small lamp on the corner table on, her fingertips hitting the shade a few times before she finally lowered her arm and pulled the cord. It immediately blinked on filling the room with soft light.

Scully tossed her purse onto the coffee table as she rolled over only to find him staring at her with a curious look on his face. She could see lust, but there was something else... love, maybe? Scully blushed, closed her eyes briefly, and opened them again.

"What?"

"Nothing. You should drink this," Mulder said, handing her the tall glass and motioning for her to sit up so he could sit down on the couch as well.

Scully had a sip of the water, put the glass down on the coffee table, and grabbed her purse to look at the present Mulder had given her for her birthday. Mulder tried not to stare when she open the small black velvet box and took the piece of jewellery out to look it over more closely.

"It's... gorgeous." Scully stammered, in awe of the simple silver hoop with sparkling amethyst gemstone.

"I know you didn't want me to get you anything for Valentine's Day... but uh, we have a tradition of me... getting you a gift for your birthday every four years," Mulder rambled, self-conscious and worried that he had overstepped.

"I like our traditions." Scully smiled brightly, and held the bellybutton ring up between them. "I wish I could switch it out now because I love it," she continued and rested her legs across his lap so she could lay down again.

Mulder ran his hands up and down her calves, wanting to ease any of the tension caused by her heels over the last few hours, and Scully moaned in response to his healing touch.

"So, when exactly did Rebel Scully get her navel pierced anyway?" Mulder asked, curious and emboldened to finally question what events led to his Scully acting out in this way and marking her body.

"Are you sure you really wanna know, Mulder?" Scully said, coyly with her patented skeptical raised eyebrow.

"Absolutely!"

"Well, I was seventeen and hanging out with my best friend, Lucy. We got drunk on a bottle of Prosecco, and one thing led to another..."

Scully suddenly sat up, crossing her legs underneath her ass and facing him, both of her hands on his thigh to keep herself balanced. _Why does he smell so fucking unbelievably amazing? __Like a forest after a thunderstorm, _Scully thought.

"I was so worried that Ahab would somehow figure out what I did, that I didn't wear a short shirt for weeks and it was the middle of Summer."

Wow, Scully, you were a baaaad girl," Mulder laughed. Of course, Scully would get a peircing and worry needlessly that she had broken some ridiculous invisible rule.

"I was a teenager... who was acting out. We ALL did. I'm sure you did, too."

"Are you disaparaging my character? I will have you know I was a model student, a perfect son-"

"Shut up, Mulder," Scully scoffed and slapped him on the arm.

"I'm sorry, Scully. iIt's just that was the sweetest story of someone trying to act out ever" Mulder soothed while rubbing his arm, in mock hurt.

"It was worth it, because it reminds me every single day that I'm not the Ice Queen everyone around work believes I am."

"Like your tattoo...?"

Scully nodded, not quite sure she wanted to dredge up that part of their history right now. Mulder carefully returned the bellybutton ring to the safety of it's box and held her hands in his much warmer and larger ones.

"You know I've never thought that way about you right, Scully?" Mulder reassured quietly, pulling her close and hugging her tightly.

In all these years he had never understood where that rumor had originated from in the Hoover Building. The Dana Katherine Scully that he knew was the warmest and kindest person he had ever had the good fortune of meeting.

"I know" Scully grinned and lifted the bottom of her sheath dress up, crawling onto Mulder's lap extremely seductively, her knees on either side of his hips.

She started kissing along his jaw, then down his neck and across his upper chest, grasping desperately at his plain white tee, trying to touch as much of his skin with hers as she could. He ran his hands up and down her back, landing on her hips briefly, and then he moved them to give her ass a gentle squeeze.

"Would you like to take this to the bedroom?" Mulder murmured against her left temple before sucking on the delicate flesh of her earlobe and palming her right breast through her dress.

The only response he got from Scully was a low, soft moan pressed against his wet pouty lips and the slow torturous grind of her hips into his, causing him to inadvertantly buck up into her.

"Scully?"

"Yesss," Scully breathed out, unsteady and more than a little turned on at this point. She circled her hips against his and scraped her manicured nails up his back and over his shoulders, dragging his tee up.

"You sure?" Mulder groaned while dotting what was visible of her clavicle with soft and loving kisses.

"I think I've waited long enough, don't you?"

Mulder couldn't help the deep, throaty chuckle that followed, stunned that even though she was more than a little tipsy, her sincerity and intent came through crystal clear.

He lifted them both up off the couch, holding Scully tightly in his arms, and walked them both over to his bedroom, pushing through the open door using his leg.

Scully stared adoringly into Mulder's hazel eyes, seeing the same level of excitement that she felt as she ran her fingers through his hair hungrily.

"I love you so much, Scully"

THE END


End file.
